IBM and the Spanish telecommunications firm Telefónica have signed a partnership to use blockchain technology. The intention is to apply the technology for international calls. More specifically, the idea is to improve international mobile phone call traffic management. The information was released a few days ago by CoinTelegraph.
Telefónica and IBM Partner to Enhance Phone Call Management
Telefónica is the seventh largest telecom company in the world by market capitalization. According to Forbes, the company has a valuation of $51 billion dollars and it has businesses in 17 different countries. Moreover, it also has over 343 million customers.
With this partnership, the companies will be trying to tackle several challenges that are affecting the telecommunications industry. For example, IBM’s blockchain technology would allow Telefonica to improve reliability and transparency of information.
At the same time, the company will be using IBM’s blockchain platform to track specific information about calls. Origin, destination and duration will also be things to take into account. Furthermore, it will be possible for Telefónica to identify fraudulent activities.
According to Gonzalo Martin-Villa, Chief Innovation Officer of Telefónica, explained that blockchain technology will increase confidence. In order to do so, blockchain technology relies on data itself rather than on the players.
IBM has later confirmed this partnership with Telefónica. IBM is engaged with several industries and blockchain projects all over Europe. The company says that European companies are spending a lot of money on blockchain innovation in Europe.
Andrew Darley, IBM Blockchain Platform Leader, Europe, said about the blockchain landscape in the continent:
“From large enterprises to start-ups, across multiple industries, businesses across Europe are selecting IBM Blockchain. Clients are attracted by the production-readiness of the IBM Blockchain Platform, allowing them to run highly secure networks in any environment of their choosing, on premise, via IBM Cloud, or an increasing number of other industry cloud providers.”
As per the press release that was written by IBM, the intention is to develop a proof of concept (PoC) that is based on IBM’s blockchain.
IBM has also partnered and worked with many other companies all over Europe. The Finnish retail cooperative S-Group is testing their Pike-perch radar solution. PKO Bank Polski implemented a blockchain-based solution to help the institution achieve compliance with the European union payment Services Directive.
Carlos is an international relations’ analyst specializing in cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology. Since 2017, Carlos has written extensively for UseTheBitcoin and other leading cryptocurrency sites; with over 2,000 articles published.
